Generosity
Mike Bidell
December 18, 2020
I want to commend you, the people of CPC, for your generous spirit. 2 Corinthians 9.7 says that "God loves a cheerful giver" and Proverbs 17.22 says, "A cheerful heart is good medicine." Not only is your practice of cheerfully sacrificing time, talent and treasure a delight to God, it's also a sign of health in you and in our church.
What I see in you is a heart to help, a heart to meet needs, and a heart to bless. These three things are commands of scripture, and I see you living out your obedience joyfully. Helping and meeting needs are most commonly understood in scripture. Blessing is a bit more unique. Blessing someone can include helping them or meeting their needs, but it is not limited to those. As a church we are not only called to help and meet the needs of the less fortunate. To bless means to apply our generous spirit to the good of those who do not lack as well. Think about this: Scripture clearly calls us to bless God (with gratitude, worship, and giving), and He lacks nothing at all! So in the same way, we also seek to creatively bless all people. Blessing does not take its marching orders from lack it observes, but from the generous spirit within.
Here are a few ways I have seen your heart to help, to meet needs and to bless:
What I see in you is a heart to help, a heart to meet needs, and a heart to bless. These three things are commands of scripture, and I see you living out your obedience joyfully. Helping and meeting needs are most commonly understood in scripture. Blessing is a bit more unique. Blessing someone can include helping them or meeting their needs, but it is not limited to those. As a church we are not only called to help and meet the needs of the less fortunate. To bless means to apply our generous spirit to the good of those who do not lack as well. Think about this: Scripture clearly calls us to bless God (with gratitude, worship, and giving), and He lacks nothing at all! So in the same way, we also seek to creatively bless all people. Blessing does not take its marching orders from lack it observes, but from the generous spirit within.
Here are a few ways I have seen your heart to help, to meet needs and to bless:
- CPC has again given tens of thousands of dollars through our General Fund, Benevolent Fund and Missions Giving to meet the needs of those facing difficulty in our community and around the world. What has been remarkable is that even though we are in a pandemic and have felt economic pressures, Benevolent Giving has increased and our church has been able to provide even more help to those who have experienced loss and lack due to covid-19.
- 154 boxes were packed and shipped through our Foreign Aid Distribution (FAD) in recent weeks to provide tangible help to devastated areas of our globe. Thank you Dawna Frelone for your service! Thank you to all the amazing volunteers who rallied to help.
- The first Sunday of December we shared a video from Christo & Sarah Emmanuel, our missionaries in Chennai, India. They reported on how evangelism is still occurring and humanitarian aid has increased through their ministry during covid, and you responded. This month we are able to send a further $2,000 to empower them to touch more lives!
- The Christmas Outreach Offering was strong and we are able to bless over 200 healthcare workers in our community with gestures of appreciation. We are also able to significantly help meet real needs felt by two medical staff who are in crisis. I think these acts will witness to the grace of our Lord Jesus. I look forward to sharing more about these with you on Sunday!
Thank you for reflecting the generous nature of God to your neighbourhood, our community and beyond. Generosity is clearly a value, embedded firmly in your hearts and overflowing from your lives. Imagine what God could do through us in 2021!
Pastor Mike
Pastor Mike